You may not be able to tell just by looking at the picture, but this soap did not turn out the way I had planned. The fragrance is a beautiful scent called Pineapple Blossom, and I had used it one other time – way back when I was experimenting with making salt bars. I didn’t remember having any issues with it then, so in my mind I set out to make a light yellow soap with dark yellow and pink swirls. The soap had something else in mind. As soon as I added the fragrance, it started causing trouble. I had already scooped out some unscented soap and colored it pink, and actually was able to scoop out some more soap and color it with extra yellow as it started to set up. Oh no! I put the main pot of soap on the stove and started to warm it, and added a bit more water to try to loosen it up. I also added a bit more yellow because it seemed too light. Meanwhile, I managed to get the darker yellow soap (not a lot darker at this point) in the bottom of the mold and made a layer. After I finally got the water and extra colorant mixed into the main pot it was somewhat clumpy, but I smushed it into the mold next. The pink soap was still perfect, so I poured a smooth layer over the top and put it to bed.

I wasn’t sure what it would look like when I unmolded it today, but it wasn’t bad. The yellow soap looks like hot process soap because it had started cooking, and the sides looked like swiss cheese:

None of this is a problem however. The scent is still amazing, and I was able to shave a bit off the sides of the bars instead of the tops, so their shape is a bit different, but most of the bars weigh the same as a regular bar of Great Cakes Soapworks soap. Although not as pretty as a swirled soap would have been, I’m still happy with the outcome, and might stamp these with the Great Cakes Soapworks stamp once they are a bit harder. Not sure how long they will need to cure since I added more liquid. I’ll have to let you know later.

I must say I’m still thinking about Sharon’s supposed “botched batch” that she posted about this week. If she hadn’t said anything, no one would have known. She did a fabulous job of salvaging it!